Today the Church honors Saint Louis IX, King of France, a man who wore a crown but lived as a servant of Christ. He is remembered not only as a just ruler but as a Christian who sought holiness in the midst of worldly responsibility.
Our readings today could have been written with St. Louis in mind. From Isaiah, we hear God’s true desire: “This is the fasting that I wish: sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, clothing the naked, and not turning your back on your own.” St. Louis understood that kingship was not a privilege for his own glory but a calling to serve the poor and the oppressed. He built hospitals, fed the hungry at his own table, and treated his people not as subjects to be ruled, but as brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Gospel reminds us of the two great commandments: to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. St. Louis is remembered most beautifully for the way he united both commandments. He was a man of prayer, attending daily Mass, fasting, and living a disciplined spiritual life. But he also expressed his love of God through his love of neighbor—especially the poor. He is patron saint of the poor, of barbers and hairdressers (because he sought humble service), and of France itself, because he sought to rule with justice, charity, and mercy.
What shines most in St. Louis’s legacy is that he never separated holiness from responsibility. Too often, we imagine that sanctity belongs only in monasteries or convents. But St. Louis shows us that holiness is possible in the world—in family life, in leadership, in the very ordinary and public duties of daily living. He once wrote to his son: “My dearest son, I would rather see you die than commit a single mortal sin.” For him, nothing mattered more than fidelity to Christ.
Psalm 112 tells us today: “Blessed the man who fears the Lord… Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever.” This is the psalm of St. Louis. His life was a testament that greatness is not measured by power, but by love.
Brothers and sisters, on this feast we are challenged by his example. We may not wear crowns, but each of us has been entrusted with responsibilities—families, communities, work, parishes. The way we carry these duties is the measure of our holiness. Like St. Louis, we are called to be men and women who love God with all our heart, and who show that love by lifting up the poor, speaking for the voiceless, and living justly in our daily choices.
Let us pray through his intercession today for the grace to unite love of God with love of neighbor—so that, like him, our lives may be a sign of Christ’s kingdom on earth.
Amen.
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